The Healing Power Of Music
by Kegger007
Summary: Music can heal the soul. When one annoyed Teen goes to a club to unwind, she finds she has much more in common with another than she already thought. Enjoy!
1. Fade

* * *

Bit Cloud sat backstage, fidgeting nervously while the master of ceremonies hyped up the crowd with his boisterous voice. This was his big chance, finally his shot at being seen by others with the connections to the industry. It had been a long road, one that had cost him his relationship with his father, whom with he never did see eye to eye. The rift between them had mended over the years and he was coming to grips with their separation. Personal experiences aside, he let his music become an outlet for his emotions and reflections, and now as he sat on an abandoned crate backstage his emotions were getting the best of him. He tried to ignore his nervousness and not throw up and only succeeded in the former. He had just come back from the washroom when his thoughts drifted towards his father.

The major stumbling block between them was his father's busy lifestyle, as his job as ZBC commisioner kept him away from home most of the time, and when he was at home he spent the majority of his time in his office. The tension mounted between them and eventually erupted in an argument between the two that resulted in his leaving home. His father had not impeded his departure, which made his exit all that much more painful. Bit had been 17 at the time.

Now, 19 and living on his own he was trying to scrape together funds to live in Romeo City. Earlier, he had tried his hand at junk dealing but found that there was barely enough profit to keep food on his plate. He had later found companionship with his band mates, bassist Brad Hunter, and drummer Jamie Hermeros. He had met Brad while junk dealing, at some truck stop outside Romeo City. Brad had been a jack-of-all trades for hire, and they had talked over coffee about various things. They both found they had a passion for music and decided to try to form a band. They later met Jamie while searching for a drummer at independant shows. Jamie agreed to join them and the rest was history.

Together they were trying to succeed in a world where the market was flooded with different musical groups each trying to eke out an existence in a cut throat industry. His band had met with little success, only playing at small bars and clubs. However, that had changed when he was contacted by the manager of the largest night club in town, Club Romeo. He was told that his band had been spotted the month before in a small, dank bar by an employee who had passed along their name to the club manager.

It was now that this manager hurried his way over and told him that they were to go on in two minutes. Composing himself he told the manager that he and his band were ready and that they would put on a great show. The manager wished them luck and wandered off to harass some of his employees who had been gathering to watch the musical entertainment. Telling the band they had two minutes to prepare, he picked up his guitar and strumming it, did some last minute fine tuning. Satisfied he turned to Brad and Jamie, and, receiving nods from them, Bit turned to face the curtain which had begun its slow, measured ascent towards the ceiling.

* * *

Leena Toros stood at the edges of the audience annoyed with herself for getting to the club late. As a result of a fight she had with her father she had lost the privilege of using the car, leaving her with the only option of taking the bus, causing her to be late. She sighed loudly, contemplating the argument she had just hours before with her father. She accused him of never listening, said that he was always worried about his work as a Zoids researcher, which then caused Doctor Toros to take away the car keys, rather than grounding her. As the events of the argument flowed lazily back into her thoughts, her anger began to mount more and more.

_Maybe some music will calm me down_, she mused. She heard the MC announce the next band and she turned in time to see the curtains rise upwards. She first noticed the bassist, a tall lanky looking man in his twenties who had a long head of shaggy hair. Next she noticed the drummer, a short boy with brown hair who was dwarfed by the size of his drum set. While the crowd clamoured for the next song the singer stood, frozen either by thought or by his own nerves. He had messy blonde hair that stuck out in practically every direction, and though the curtain had finished raising, he remained silent. She leaned forward, looking at this enigmatic boy and wondering why he hadn't said anything yet. The assembled people grew restless and began to shout at the stage. The band leader broke out of his reverie and his slow approach to the microphone caused her to lean closer, anticipating what he had to say. She jumped when she heard his sudden words, "This song is called Fade."

With that the band started up, a melancholy tune floating from the various instruments; the rhythmic drum beats keeping time with the sorrowful wail of the electric guitar while the bass beat out it's unrelenting dirge. As she closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the music the singer's voice broke into her thoughts.

_I try to breathe  
Memories overtaking me  
I try to face them but  
The thought is too much to conceive  
  
I only know that I can change  
Everything else just stays the same  
So now I step out of the darkness  
that my life became 'cause  
  
I just needed someone to talk to  
You were just to busy with yourself  
You were never there for me  
To express how I felt  
I just stuffed it down  
Now I'm older and I feel like  
I could let some of this anger fade  
But it seems the surface I am scratching  
Is the bed that I have made_

As she stood there watching the boy sing it felt like he was pouring his heart out to her, spinning a tale of decisions made in the past that can never be reversed. Not only could she hear the pain in his voice as he sung of younger days, but there was an urgency behind his voice as well, as if he were asking others not to make the same mistake with their parents, or their children.

_So where were you?  
When all this I was going through  
You never took the time_

_To ask me just what you could do _

_I only know that I can change  
Everything else just stays the same  
So now I step out of the darkness  
that my life became 'cause  
  
I just needed someone to talk to  
You were just to busy with yourself  
You were never there for me  
To express how I felt  
I just stuffed it down  
Now I'm older and I feel like  
I could let some of this anger fade  
But it seems the surface I am scratching  
Is the bed that I have made  
  
I never meant to fade...  
Away  
  
I NEVER MEANT TO FADE  
_

Her thoughts turned to her argument with her father. She realized how childish their argument had been, being one simply about a car and curfew when this boy was bleeding his life to the audience. The pain and problems in her life paled in comparison to the pain she felt when she heard about his. She silently made a note to herself to reconcile with her father after she got back from the club.

_I just needed someone to talk to  
You were just to busy with yourself  
You were never there for me  
To express how I felt  
I just stuffed it down  
Now I'm older and I feel like  
I could let some of this anger fade  
But it seems the surface I am scratching  
Is the bed that I have made  
  
I try to breathe..._

As his song concluded she stood dumbfounded with the rest of the audience for a few moments. Then she began to clap vigourously and the crowd soon joined in with their raucous applause. As she stood their cheering she watched the singer carefully. He put his guitar down his eyes swept across the gathered group of people. For a moment he looked directly at her and it was then that she realized this was much more to him than just a song. She then made the decision to search him out backstage and tell him how his song had affected her.

* * *

Bit placed his guitar back on the stand and surveyed the crowd, basking for a moment in their applause. As his eyes swept across the audience he noticed a girl who seemed to be in deep contemplation about something. She had bubblegum pink hair and looked to be completely oblivious to her surroundings. Dismissing her for the moment he turned to walk off the stage and out of the corner of his eyes caught a glimpse of the curtains closing behind him. As the blue material fell across the stage he felt as if a chapter in his own life had closed as well. He had vented his grievances to his father but had also apologized for the way he delt with his problem. He promised himself to see his father at a later date and tell him what he had just come to realize, and then hopefully they could finish rebuilding their relationship. It was just then that someone came running up to him. It was that same girl who he had seen earlier, and as she approached he could hear "Hi. I'm Leena, what's your name?"

* * *

Disclaimer - I am neither in the band Staind nor do I own them. The song Fade is written by Staind and not owned by me. I am not making any money off its use. I don't own Zoids either._  
_

Author Note: Actually, I wrote this a while back and there weren't any characters, it was just an anonymous song fic about a guy and a girl resolving seperate, but similar problems, and the healing power of music. But I was looking through my old stuff and decided to turn it into a Bit/Leena fic...and I think it turned out well. Let me know what you thought! REVIEW!


	2. Get up

The Healing Power Of Music

Chapter 2: Get Up

Author Notes: Well....I looked at it a bit, and you guys suggested it...so I'm gonna attempt to extend this little one-shot. Plus my other computer has a number of viruses on it, and that's where my other fic is stored (the next chapter was half done!), so I can't finish that until I get my bro to fix it. So instead, I'll write this one from another computer. Wish me luck! On to the reviewers!

Careless Whispers - Hmm...this is what you get for inspiring me to write another chapter and extend this thing! Thanks for the input!

Mercenary Pen - I read an article on songfics a while ago...it's hard to do them right...but I like the challenge...if you can, tell me if what I'm doing in my other fic works or not (with the songs as themes for the each chapter). I need some input on that. Thanks for the review!

RaiKinoshin - Wow! I'm flattered! And here ya go! I continued it! Thanks for the review!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or world of Zoids.

Now! On to the story!

* * *

"Hi. I'm Leena, what's your name?" said the girl with bubblegum pink hair and violet eyes.

Bit scratched the back of his head nervously, "Uh, hi! My name's Bit, and the tall guy over there is Brad, and the short one is Jamie," he said, introducing his fellow band members.

"Who are you calling short?" came Jamie's indignant reply, while Brad simply nodded and went back to packing up his equipment, putting a case of patch cords away in his bass guitar's large carrying case.

Leena nodded back to the others, "It's nice to meet you," she said politely. She turned back to face Bit, who was beginning to pack away his guitar and amp.

"I just wanted to say your song really moved me," she informed him.

Bit was stunned. Usually if someone came up to him after a show it was to either to tell him something he could improve with his guitar playing, or someone asking for Brad's phone number. But this girl, she actually had felt something in his song. It was almost how he felt when he wrote songs and performed them for the first time. She saw what he was trying to portray through his music: his own visions and hopes, that others would listen to his messages.

"Th-thanks," he managed to get out, trying to get over his surprise.

Leena looked at her watch before a look of horror crossed her face, "Oh crap! It's late! If I don't hurry I'm gonna miss the last bus out of town! Then I'm really in trouble!" She turned to run out the back door of the stage, quickly turning back to wave goodbye. "I'll see you around!"

Bit numbly waved back before turning back to packing up his equipment.

"Who's the girl?" said the club manager, who had just finished thanking the crowd for coming out for the live music.

"I don't know," said Bit, "She just said she liked the music."

"Well, she should," said the manager, "It was great. The crowd loved it!" he opened his scheduling book, "That's why I want to book you guys to play in a few nights, how does that sound?"

For the second time in the same night, Bit was speechless. Fortunately for him though, Brad wasn't and he quickly stepped up to cover for Bit.

"That sounds perfect," said Brad coolly, "We'll be ready to play."

"Excellent," said the manager clapping his hands together, "We'll work out payment issues over the phone tomorrow. You know my number?"

"Yeah, I have it right here," said Jamie holding up his address book.

The manager laughed, "Well, here's the real one," he said, handing a slip of paper to Brad.

"Real one?" confusion was evident in Jamie's voice.

"The other number is just a contact for first time bands," Brad provided.

The manager nodded, "Correct. This one is the one I give to bands that we keep on payroll. Congratulations."

Brad nodded, "Thanks."

The manager shook each of their hands before heading back out to finish closing down the registers at the bar.

Bit finally found his voice, "Did what I think just happen?"

Brad cracked a rare smile, "Yeah, it just happened."

"We've been contracted!" exclaimed Jamie excitedly.

Bit smiled. For once in his life, something was going right.

* * *

"Battle over! Battle over!" the judge's artificial voice boomed, "The winner is: the Ace team!"

Leena groaned, hitting her hand off her forehead. She had fallen for such a simple trap.

Ugh, that was so stupid!

The Zaber Tiger of the Ace team had led her right over a sandy area where two hidden Guysacks pounced out of the ground and brought her Dibison down with fire to the leg joints.

She sighed, disappointed. _I didn't even get to fire my new Megalomax blast that Dad installed._

She opened up the cockpit canopy, stepping down the joints in the Dibison's face and landing on the soft desert sand. Her brother, Leon, hadn't fared much better. She could see him jumping down from the cockpit of his downed Shield Liger, turning to survey the damage done. Leon hadn't lasted much longer than she did. With her out of the fight the three Ace team members ganged up on Leon, and though he managed to take out one of the Guysacks, he eventually fell to the extended fire from the Zaber Tiger.

"Leon, we can't keep going on like this!" she called to him as he sulked in front of his Liger.

"I know, but what can we do? It was three on two!" Leon complained, running a hand through his styled brown hair.

They used to have three team members, but the third, a mercenary (and not a very good one at that), had quit the team, citing the fact that he wasn't making enough money. The unfortunate thing was he had quit the night before the battle, leaving them with no time to find a replacement.

"Well, let's get the Zoids back onto the Hover Cargo," sighed Leon, booting up the systems of his command frozen Zoid.

"Alright," she agreed, jumping back up into the cockpit of her Zoid, restarting the systems and walking over to the approaching Hover Cargo. She stepped the Dibison into the side loading bay for heavy Zoids while Leon headed up the main ramp to the magnetic launcher platform. After her Zoid was shut down and in standby mode she headed for the main bridge. When she got there her father was already talking to Leon.

"We can't keep losing like that," said Doctor Steven Toros, "We really need the prize money to cover our expenses!"

Leena joined the conversation, "We know that Dad, but without another team member we won't do well in combat against full sized teams."

"Leena's right," agreed Leon, "It makes it easy for them to gang up on us."

The Doc turned back to the controls and sat down, "That's the thing guys, we can't afford another member. For that matter, we can't afford to loose again."

"What do you mean?" said Leon suspiciously.

Dr. Toros turned to face them, "The costs from the repairs to your Zoids will take up the last of our funds. If we don't win our next battle we'll be bankrupt."

"What!" Leena exclaimed, "We can't be bankrupt!"

"We will be if we loose again," Leon said ominously before leaving the bridge to start fixing what he could on his Zoid. Leena sat down in one of the cockpit chairs, a look of despair across her face.

I can't stop Zoid battling. It's what makes me different from all those other girls out there. It's my hobby, my passion.

She leaned her head against the head rest, about to drift off into a light sleep during the journey back to the base.

But what's the point, she thought as she lost consciousness, _We can't win with just me and Leon._

__

_

* * *

_

__

__

Bit looked out through the curtain. The crowd was even larger than the one that they had the first time they played at Club Romeo. He pulled the curtain closed and walked over to where Brad and the manager were conversing about payment issues.

"Large crowd tonight," Bit said, to which the manager smiled.

"Oh yes, word has gotten around about how good you guys are," he beamed, "And you are playing at the best nightclub in Romeo City!"

"Well, we're ready to go," said Brad, imagining the large paycheck he had just negotiated.

Jamie finished tightening down the final locks on his snare drum, "I'm ready whenever you guys are," he said.

"Splendid!" said the manager, leaving to go tell the crowd.

"Ready guys?" said Bit as the curtain rose.

Brad nodded and Jamie smacked his bass drum in agreement.

"Well, then let's go!" shouted Bit as he jumped up to the microphone. He wondered if Leena was in the crowd as announced his first song, "This song is called Get Up."

With that, he and the band played, and as the hour they were playing for flew by the crowd got into it more and more. By the end, when it was time to leave the stage the crowd was roaring for them to stay. But unfortunately the club was closing, so the crowds had to leave.

As the band began to break down their equipment, Bit failed to notice the departure of a certain girl with bubblegum pink hair.

* * *

"The area within a five mile radius is a designated Zoid battle zone!" warned the Judge, "Danger! All unauthorized personnel must leave the area immediately. The Blitz Team VS. The Raptor Team, battle mode 0982. Area: scanned. Battlefield: set up! Ready? Fight!"

With the crossing of the judge's arms the battle was underway.

The three Rev Raptors of the other team charged right off the start, lowering their heads and letting out high pitched battle cries while extending their side mounted scythe-like blades.

Leena sat in the cockpit of her Dibison, mind not currently on the battle.

"We're just going to lose anyways," she said to herself. Her thoughts drifted back to Bit's performance the night before. She hadn't gone to see him after the show because she had to get home early so she could get a good night's rest before her battle. Still, she couldn't get one of his songs out of her head. She hummed along to the tune of the lyrics.

Well you think that you're safe. Well I just think you're a waste.

"Leena! What are you doing!" warned Leon, "Move!"

"Huh?" she snapped to attention on the battle around her, and barely moved out of the way as two of the Raptors streaked by with their blades screaming through the air. Still, she couldn't get the song out of her head. It was like Bit was in the cockpit singing.

Well you've been striving to win. Well you get knocked down again.

She managed to avoid another strike by the melee-type Zoids, returning fire with a few of her Zoid's many cannons. She chanced a glance at her monitor to see Leon in a cat and mouse game with the third Rev Raptor. She failed to notice one of the other Rev Raptors approaching her from the side, and she could do little to move before it rammed into her, surprisingly toppling her large Zoid.

"Come on! You have to get up!" she cried to her Dibison as multiple damage indicators flickered on her console.  
__

_Get up. Here's your chance now._

She launched her Zoid to its feet in time to catch the rushing Raptor with a ram from her Dibison's curved horns. The sharpness of said horns and the speed of the charging Raptor did the rest, as its midsection folded around the was dented heavily by contact with the horns.  
__

_All eyes are upon you. You better give your all._

Leena used all her strength to heave on the controls, tossing the head of the Dibison back and hurling the battered Rev Raptor up and over, sending it to crash hard into the side of a sand dune. She turned her attention to the other Raptor, while the other struggled to get up off the ground._  
_

_If you wanna rise up. You got to do what defines you._

Unfortunately for the Raptor pilot, Leena noticed this and struck out with a favourite move of hers: the donkey kick, which was essentially her kicking out behind her with her Zoid's rear legs. The problem with that was of course, her Zoid was a considerably heavy Zoid, so any other caught by a kick from her Dibison would be in trouble, much like a certain Rev Raptor was at the moment. _  
_

_Cause if you give up, give in, you're gone_

Her kick was well timed, and connected squarely with the rising Raptor's midsection, all but shattering its scythes and sending it to land hard on its back. The judge's voice chimed in, "Registration number 0-23XR, out of the battle!" The other standing Raptor's pilot appeared on her comm screen, "That was a weird tactic little girl, but then again, you're pretty weird yourself." Leena began to get angry, "What did you say!?" "You heard me, now prepare to lose."_  
_

_Well they're calling you strange. Well it's more like deranged._

Leena smiled. She wasn't too bothered by his comment. Many of her old school friends had said she was strange for getting into Zoid battling at such a young age, but she didn't let that bother her. Still, others found her trigger happy, but that's what she liked about her style._  
_

_When they just push you aside. But it keeps you alive._

The other pilot's voice came across the comm again, "Well girly? Are you gonna give up or what?" Leena smiled and turned her vid comm on so her face appeared on his screen. Then, she simply smiled sweetly and flipped him the bird. "Megalomax fire!" she shouted, hitting the button on her console._  
_

_Get up._

The cannons on her Zoid's back lit up with energy and began to let out blast after blast at the hapless Raptor. Over one hundred blasts had been fired, peppering the sand, rocks, and of course, the enemy with shot after shot. By the time the smoke cleared, the Raptor was a smoking wreck lying in the dirt.

"Registration number 0-24XR out of the battle!"

"You bitch!" shouted the remaining Rev Raptor pilot turning to attack Leena. His strike was short-lived however, as a shield charge from Leon took him out of the battle. "Don't swear at my sister," said Leon menacingly.

"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is: the Blitz Team!"

"Yes! We did it!" Leena exclaimed. She couldn't help but think that maybe Bit had something to do with it.

Just wait until he hears about this battle!

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own the song Get Up. It's written by Breaking Point

Author Note: Well! That was another chapter, like you guys wanted! I think this will turn into a story nicely don't you? Anyways, remember to read and most importantly, to tell me what you thought and what you would like to see next, REVIEW!__


	3. The New Gig

**The Healing Power Of Music**

_Chapter 3: The New Gig_

Author Notes: Hey, I got some pretty good feedback about the last chapter there, so I'm happy! And my computer doesn't have any more viruses! So double goodness all around. No songfic this chap, though music is sorta a theme for the story! And I figured out where I'm gonna go with this story, so we're all set! On to the reviewers!

**RaiKinoshin - **What do you mean I expected someone important? All my reviewers are important! And the lyrics are there! Leena is remembering them during the battle. That's the stuff you see in italics! Lol, anyways, thanks for the review, and enjoy the new chapter!

**BlackHole CO - **Doc will find a way to pay his fees, even if he has to sell his models lol. And yes, Jamie will always be considered short! Lol, thanks for the review man!

**Mercenary Pen - **Ehh...the first chap was an old piece of writing hastily converted to Zoids, so I can see where you're coming from. Hey, thanks for the input, that's the stuff I need to improve my writing! And good work on the Duelist fic! Thanks for the review!

**Careless Whispers - **Lol, I'm glad it sounds like a story. Yeah Get Up is a great song, and Breaking Point is a good band...I just can't find their CD anywhere! Thanks for the review!

**Princess Paine of Darkness - **Hey! I'm glad you like it so far! Thanks for reviewing!

Disclaimer: Don't own Zoids, if I can't have it, then you can't either!

**Now! **On to the story!

* * *

Bit sat down at the bar at Club Romeo, having just finished a mid-afternoon set for a birthday party that had reserved the club for the afternoon. He sighed heavily, feeling the day's work already taking a toll on his weary body. He had traveled from Romeo City to New Helic City to begin recording an album with his band, and had to travel overnight to make it back to Club Romeo on time for his next gig.

"You're lookin' pretty haggard there Bit," said the bartender, Lucas, a grizzled man in his late forties who had a bald head and a scruffy beard. But under his tough facade lay a kind hearted man.

"Yeah, I didn't get any sleep," Bit said, running his hand over his face.

"Here," Lucas handed him a cup of coffee, "This'll help."

Bit accepted the cup gratefully, "Thanks a lot Lucas."

"No problem kid," Lucas waved his hand, "You bring in so much business to this place I make a fortune off tips!" he laughed merrily.

Bit smiled, "Well, I do try."

He took a long sip of his warm coffee, savouring the rich flavour as it ran down his throat, warming his insides and easing the stiffness in his back. The television at the corner of the bar had just finished it's news report and was beginning to recap the previous day's Zoid battles.

_Wish I was still a Zoid pilot,_ Bit thought with a little nostalgia. He had at one time been a pilot, after all, the son of the Zoid Battle Commission's CEO would have to have some interest in Zoid combat. But that had been when he was sixteen, before he and his father had their falling out. After that, he hadn't had the money to maintain piloting a Zoid, so he turned to junk dealing and eventually he was in the band with Brad and Jamie, and doing quite well for that matter.

_Still, I do miss the excitement of the battles._

"Wow, look at the moves on that one," said Lucas, who was watching the recap of the Class B battles.

Bit looked over to the television, seeing three Rev Raptors facing off against a Dibison and Shield Liger.

"Those three Raptors probably won," said Lucas.

"I don't know," said Bit thoughtfully, "The Dibison is a strong Zoid, even though it is outnumbered."

As if to punctuate his thoughts the Dibison caught a charging Raptor with its horns, tossing it towards a sand dune. The next highlight was of the same Raptor catching a vicious kick to the midsection, putting it out of the battle. The Dibison turned to the other Raptor, and the two paused for a moment. Then the cannons on the Dibison's back lit up all at once, pouring an extremely large amount of fire into the other Raptor, putting it out of the battle. The third Raptor charged the Dibison was caught by a shield charge perpetuated by the Shield Liger.

"Well," Lucas said, "Shows what I know about battling, huh kid?"

"Hey, it could've gone either way," Bit consoled, "I just got lucky."

"Speaking of lucky," said the club manager as he sat down beside Bit, "I've had a couple requests regarding your band!"

"Oh yeah?" Bit raised his eyebrows, "What kind of requests?"

"Requests for you guys to play at social functions," the manager elaborated, "You know, things like that."

"Well, I don't know," said Bit uncertainly, "We are in contract for this Club."

"Nonsense," said the manager, "The one group that I want you to play for fund this club, and besides, they're willing to pay a handsome sum of money as well."

"Did someone say a handsome sum of money?" came Brad Hunter's voice as he walked over to the bar.

"Oh boy, here we go," said Jamie, holding his forehead, "Brad, you're always thinking about money."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," the manager said, "Mr. Hunter just has business interests in mind."

Brad nodded smugly, gesturing for the manager to continue.

"Anyways," he continued, "The clients want you to play at one of their social events, and they're willing to pay you triple what I pay you for one night's work," he finished, nodding to Brad.

Before Bit or Jamie could say anything, Brad piped up, "We'll do it, just tell us when."

"Splendid," the manager beamed, "You will be playing tomorrow night at their main building just outside of city limits."

As the manager walked away, Bit turned to Brad, "Are you sure about this?"

Brad grabbed Bit's shoulders and shook him, "Just think of the money!"

Jamie chimed in, "I think he's right Bit, we could really use the money to finish recording our first album, and possibly buy new equipment."

"Oh all right," Bit caved.

_Why are they throwing around so much money?_

He had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Leena was relaxing on the couch in the living room of the Blitz Team base, more commonly known as the Toros base, and was currently watching the replay of the battle they had won against the Raptors Team. She couldn't quite explain it, but she felt like she had somehow found a new reservoir of strength and will during the battle, and had managed to take out half the enemy team by herself.

_And then there was that song I couldn't get out of my head._

She couldn't help it though, the songs she had heard from Bit Cloud's band were just catchy.

"Hey Leena!" her Dad yelled as he came down the hall with Leon at his side, "We have a new opponent to battle!"

Leena got up off the couch and turned off the television, "Did our prize money cover the repairs?" she asked hopefully.

Leon grinned, "Yeah, it did, and we have enough left over to last a couple of battles more."

"All right!" Leena cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

"Anyways," said the Doc, breaking up Leena's celebration, "We battle against the Fierce Tigers Team tomorrow evening."

"But Dad, we still don't have another team member!" Leon pointed out.

"He's right Dad, if they have three Zoids, which they will, it'll be another hard battle," Leena agreed.

"Nonsense!" the Doc waved his hand, "We'll just beat them like we beat the Raptors Team!"

"Dad, it's not going-" Leon was cut off as the Doc left the room, mumbling about ways to spend the prize money already.

Leena sat back down on the couch, turning back to the television. Leon sat down beside her with a sigh.

"Dad doesn't listen," he complained.

Leena rolled her eyes, "Of course he does, he just hears what he wants to hear."

Leon looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, "Well, we had better come up with a good plan to win this next battle."

"Oh I don't know," said Leena putting her hands behind her head, "I think we'll do just fine."

Leon looked at her strangely, "How did you come to that conclusion?"

Leena appeared to have a distant look on her face, "I don't know, I just have a feeling."

Leon heaved himself up off the couch, "Well I hope you're right, this is going to be harder than before."

_I hope I'm right too_, thought Leena to herself.

* * *

"Look at the size of this place!" exclaimed Jamie as Brad pulled their truck into a parking space beside the enormous building they were playing at.

"Some venue," said Brad, "But this is clear out in the desert, nowhere near city limits."

"Well," Bit added, "A gig's a gig, so let's get going."

They unloaded all of their equipment and transported it piece by piece through a side entrance. A representative from the owners showed them to the stage where they would be playing. They walked down a long, stark gray hall, approaching large double doors at its end. The aid hit a button on the wall and the large doors swung inwards, revealing a large ball room with a large stage at one end, a large section of viewing screens, and a long wall adorned with various paintings and decorations. As they walked across the ball room floor they noticed that there were various important looking people dressed in finery and others who were carrying serving trays, flitting around the hall and serving those who wished to be served.

"This place is pretty swanky," Bit muttered to Brad, who nodded, acknowledging the need of the rich to show off their wealth.

"It's probably some stock holder's ball," suggested Brad.

"Maybe it's just a really rich family's birthday party?" Jamie hypothesized.

"Wrong on both accounts," said a large man with graying hair, "This is simply a wealthy millionaires club and we meet every now and again to converse, buy or sell, or simply enjoy games of chance." With that the man walked away, presumably to take part in the activities he had just listed.

_Strange people,_ Bit mused.

"Well," he said aloud, "We'd better set up."

* * *

It was near dusk as the Hover Cargo rolled up to the battle site.

"This is Leon, mobilizing on the launch ramp."

The magnetic catapult fired and launched Leon's blue Shield Liger out onto the battlefield. At the side of the Cargo a hatch opened up, lowering the Dibison out of a side platform and dropping it to the ground.

"Leena here, ready to rumble!"

The Dibison brayed and walked over to where Leon's Shield Liger had come to a halt. Soon the three Zoids of the Fierce Tigers Team became visible, and like their name suggested, were cat-like Zoids. But unlike the Liger, these were Zaber Fangs, coloured yellow much like actual jungle cats.

"This is the Fierce Tigers Team, and this is Kirkland," said the other team's leader, his face appearing on their screens. He was wearing some sort of furry jacket and had wildly styled hair that stuck straight up.

"Wow," said Leena, "You guys have little outfits to go along with your team name!"

"Quiet!" yelled another one of the pilots, this one had shorter hair that was more bowl shaped.

Another voice chimed in, "Easy Omari, we'll have plenty of time to do our damage on the field."

"Lineback's right," said Kirkland, "Let's finish these losers here and now. Besides," he sneered, "They only have two Zoids."  
"That's more than enough to finish you three off," Leon replied.

Kirkland's comeback was cut off by the arrival of the judge capsule slamming into the ground.

"Attention! The area within a five mile radius is a designated Zoid battle zone! Danger! All unauthorized personnel must leave the area immediately. The Blitz Team VS. The Tigers Team, battle mode 0982! Area: scanned. Battlefield: set up! Ready? Fight!"

But before either the Tigers or Leena could make a move, a strange black cloud began to fall over the field.

"What the hell is that!" Lineback yelled.

Leena looked up and thought she could see a shape running through the cloud, but she was startled by an object crashing in to the judge capsule. As the smoke cleared she saw a lone figure within the dust cloud.

"Attention, this battle has been taken over by the Backdraft Group!" the electronic voice sneered.

"What?" came the unified response from all of the warriors.

The figure began to resolve itself into the form of what looked like a judge, except this one was dark and had a strange voice.

"Battlefield set up! All of you pathetic wimps against the Shark Team! Battle mode 0999!" the judge waved its hand nonchalantly, "Go."

Out of nowhere, three War Sharks caught the Tigers team with their jaws hanging, Kirkland being felled by a beam cannon shot, while Lineback and Omari were felled by multiple torpedoes.

"Oops," said a voice, "It looks like I broke them."

"Who are you?" Leon demanded.

"Didn't you hear the nice judge?" the voice said again, a face appearing on their screens. He had long brown hair with a lock hanging forward over his face, and a pair of the strangest sunglasses Leena had ever seen, so long that they covered most of his cheeks as well. "I'm Major Polta, and this is a Backdraft battle now."

"Leon," Leena sounded worried, "What do we do?"

"I don't know," said Leon as four moving mounds of sand could be seen heading in their direction.

Leena gripped her controls and prepared to shoot anything that moved.

_And here I thought this was going to be an easy fight._

__

* * *

Author Notes: Oops...I did it again. A cliff hanger, I'm sorry, but it had to be done! I hope at least this makes you want to read the next chapter! It's necessary! Trust me! Hehe, oh well, if you hate cliff hangers, be sure to tell me in your REVIEWS!!! Later!


	4. Headstrong

**The Healing Power Of Music**

_Chapter 4: Headstrong_

Author Notes: Well, I was gonna update my other story first (next chapter is one fifth written), but since I got so many reviews I think you guys deserve another update! Wow! A lot of people of reviewed! It makes me feel awesome to see that review alert in my hotmail account. On to the reviewers!

**Mercenary Pen - **I can't have mood setting chaps all the time lol! Or can I? I know how you feel, but I need that chapter to set up this one! I hope you enjoy it and thanks for the review!

**Princess Paine of Darkness - **We'll have to see, I mean, the Blitz Team only has two Zoids! Thanks for the review!

**ShadowLiger - **Wow! I have no clue what battle mode means what, except for 0999, so if you could help me out on that end or something, that would be great! Just give me a list in a review or something! Thanks! And thanks for reviewing my fic!

**SulliMike23 - **Hey, I'm glad you like it so far! I don't think this angle has ever been done, though it was almost a fluke because it started out as a one-shot! Thanks for the review!

**Kitai Matsuru - **I know what you mean about busy life! I gotta go away to university in a week! Wow, I'm glad you think my writing is good, and I'm also happy you like the songs! This chapter will not disappoint, I assure you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids! Oh well.

**Now! **On to the story!

* * *

The room buzzed with excitement, as if something big were about to happen. Many of the various important looking people were gathered near television screens, and a number of them had taken up station beside the large wall on the east side of the room.

"What are they waiting for?" Bit whispered to Brad.

Brad shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, but we better get started playing. That's what they pay us for after all."

"Ready guys?" Jamie asked, readying his drum sticks against his snare drum.

"Yeah, let's go," said Bit. He approached the microphone to announce his first song, but was halted by the large man with gray hair that he had seen earlier.

"May I make an announcement first?" the man asked.

"I guess so," Bit said uncertainly, "The microphone's all yours."

"Thank you young man," the man said. "Attention everyone! If you take a look to our monitors we will begin tonight's festivities!"

Bit looked on in wonder as every single monitor flashed, bringing to life the image of a battlefield with one team of Zoids facing off against another.

"Now the battle will commence in one minute, so please remember to place your bets!" the man concluded, handing Bit the microphone. "You may begin now," he informed Bit.

"Sure thing," Bit mumbled.

_So these people just bet on Zoid battles huh? I bet there are some pretty rich bets judging by how these people throw money around._

He stepped back up to the microphone to call out his first song as the battle on the television got underway.

"This song is called Headstrong."

* * *

"Leon! Are you okay?" Leena shouted as Leon's Shield Liger was batted from the air by the tail of a jumping War Shark. The blue Liger hit the ground hard, rolling until it came to a crashing halt against a large boulder, which promptly shattered under the kinetic impact of the Liger.

"Yeah," Leon groaned, "I'm okay, just get running for harder ground okay?"

"Why?" she wondered if a few screws had been knocked loose from his head.

"Because," he continued, "Those War Sharks can't travel underground if it's too hard packed." He fired a trio of impact cannon shots at Major Polta's War Shark, which dodged by heading back under the sand.

"Then what?" she wondered, "I just can't leave you!"

"Leena, your Zoid can easily take them if they're above ground." Leon pleaded, "Now go!" He took off after two of the sharks which were circling nearer and nearer to Leena's Zoid.

"Okay, but make sure you get out okay, alright Leon?" she pleaded.

Another explosion rocked Leon's Zoid, "I'll be fine," he grimaced, "Get going!"

She wheeled her Zoid around, bringing her Dibison into a run that quickly turned into a gallop at its top speed. Fortunately for her, the War Sharks hadn't noticed her departure just yet, and she managed to get quite a ways away before they noticed she had gone missing. She chanced a look at her rear scopes, noticing Leon in a dance with two of the War Sharks. She cheered silently as Leon managed to catch one with a shield charge and shots from his impact cannon, only to wince as he was caught with a barrage of torpedoes from another War Shark. Leon's Zoid hit the ground and didn't get up, nor did it move.

_I hope he's okay,_ she prayed silently.

However, it was at this moment that the remaining three War Sharks realized their quarry had escaped, and they quickly turned and followed her underground, making up the distance at a frightening rate. She looked at her forward scopes and saw a large building in the distance. As she got a closer sensor scan, it appeared to be some sort of old Zoid arena.

_That has to have a concrete base! I have to get near it!_

She urged her Zoid to a faster speed, but it wasn't enough. She began to notice the crests of the War Sharks breaking the sands. She screamed as they leapt out of the ground and opened their jaws, energy glowing brightly inside.

* * *

The guitar broke out into a fast tune, being accompanied by an equally frantic drum beat and bass support.

_Circling your, circling your, circling your head, _

_Contemplating everything you ever said_

Bit watched the monitors as a Zoid battle got underway. A trio of red Iron Kongs were situated in some sort of strange arena, where there were thousands of spectator seats, but no fans. They approached out of a set of doors and Bit wondered just what they were doing there.

_Now I see the truth, I got doubt_

_A different motive in your eyes and now I'm out_

He looked closer and noticed another Zoid approaching at the other side of the arena. It was one of the largest Zoids Bit had ever seen. The assembled guests gasped in wonder as it plodded slowly out of its hanger and into the arena. It was elephant-like in shape, complete with a set of ears and a large, but dangerous looking trunk.

_See you later_

_I see your fantasy, You want to make it a reality paved in gold_

Bit almost chuckled to himself. The people at the party were just placing bets on Zoid battles, nothing more, nothing less. No wonder it had to be done in secret; monetary bets on Zoids outside of sanctioned betting casinos was certainly forbidden. But so what? These people just wanted to make their boring business lives a little more exciting. What was the harm in that?

_See inside, Inside of our heads yeah_

_Well now that's over_

Almost in contradiction to his thoughts, large vents opened up around the arena each aiming downwards towards the floor. Simultaneously, large flames gushed out of the ports, turning the surrounding area into a ring of fire. Bit's eyes opened wide in wonder, and Jamie almost hitched in his tempo. Brad, however, remained cool as usual and didn't miss a beat in his song.

_I see your motives inside, decisions to hide_

Bit couldn't help but feel that something was strange about these battles, aside from the betting and the wall of flames around the arena. Something unsettling about this type of battle bothered him.

_Back off I'll take you on_

_Headstrong to take on anyone_

The lead Iron Kong broke into a loping run towards the elephant's position, arms swinging in the Kong's parody of a man sprinting. It wound up with a fist cocked back in the intention of delivering a crushing blow to the other Zoid's cockpit.

_I know that you are wrong_

_Headstrong we're Headstrong_

It was met with a swinging trunk and claw attachment that caught it in the face. The Kong's neck snapped back, clotheslined by its own momentum. The elephant pulled back with the trunk and hurled the Kong, an impressive feat considering the immense weight of the other Zoid, and it landed at the feet of its comrades, frozen and out of the battle. The crowd ooohed and ahhed as the other two Kongs looked at each other before opening up with their arsenals.

_Back off I'll take you on_

_Headstrong to take on anyone_

Bit continued to play, even through the impressive explosions from the Kongs' shoulder mounted missile launchers as they impacted against the elephant in a growing fireball. When the smoke cleared however, the black Zoid was still standing, completely without a scratch as it disengaged an enormous energy shield.

_I know that you are wrong and this is not where you belong_

_I can't give everything away_

The elephant trumpeted a battle cry and charged towards the two stunned Kongs. One was so surprised it barely managed to move before the black Zoid hammered into it with its tusks, sending it to the ground with its command system frozen. The other Kong caught a full blast from the elephant's cannons, causing it to stumble into the wall of flames before also falling. Bit watched in horror as the pilot jumped out of the cockpit, on fire, much to the delight of the crowd watching.

_I won't give everything away_

These people, Bit thought to himself, were certainly sick. What kind of people cheered such battles? He frowned as the side wall that many of the guests were standing next to lowered into the floor, revealing a large pane of glass and another arena down below.

The large man got on his microphone, so Bit halted his singing and they played an instrumental section while he was talking.

"Place your bets quickly, our next bout is unexpectedly coming to us!"

Bit watched as a Dibison stumbled into the arena, followed closely by three War Sharks that had to jump onto land as the reached the arena. The bison type Zoid promptly turned around and blasted the Sharks, putting them each out of commission. The assembled crowd groaned as the Bison's cockpit opened, revealing a girl with pink hair who was yelling at the downed Sharks.

_That's Leena!_ Bit realized.

"Don't worry folks," said the large, gray haired man got on the mic again, "I, Alteil, personally assure this fight is not over!"

Bit watched in horror as the flame vents came down again and blasted their flames, causing Leena to wince and jump back inside of her cockpit. In the corner of the arena a hatch opened, allowing another combatant to enter.

_It's the elephant Zoid again!_

Bit looked around frantically, but no one seemed to notice anything amiss.

Bit turned away from his microphone, him and Brad still playing instrumental. "I have to go, cover for me," he said.

"What!" Brad hissed, "What are you doing!"

"Uhh...," Bit thought of an excuse, "I have to go to washroom," he said lamely. He thrust his guitar into Brad's hands, "Keep playing, I'll be right back!"

Before Brad could argue any further, Bit ran off through the back curtains, intent on finding a way to help Leena out of that dangerous battle. Brad coolly ran a hand through his hair and continued playing Headstrong the best he could.

* * *

Bit ran frantically down the hall, looking for something, anything that he could use to help Leena.

_This place must have a Zoid hanger of some sort!_

He stumbled around a corner, seeing a pair of guards stationed in front of a pair of doors. He barely made it back around to the other hallway before they saw him. He stood there, panting, trying to think of a plan to get past the guards. He didn't have to.

"Hey," said one of the guards, "You wanna go get some coffee?"

"Sure," said the other, "There's no point in guarding, everyone's watching the battles."

Bit couldn't believe his luck as he watched the two guards walk down the hall, presumably to go get their coffee. Not one to waste an opportunity, Bit ran back to the double doors and pushed against them. Luckily they weren't locked and he soon found himself in a small Zoids hanger that had a long tunnel at the end of it.

_I know, I know all about_

Bit's eyes widened. This place was a secret organization to have so many Zoids! How else could they have been able to put on those sorts of unsanctioned fights? That meant that the danger for the pilots was certainly greater, and there may not even be rules.

_I know, I know all about your motives inside, and your decision to hide_

That was why they were so far out in the desert, hiding in a secret complex. They knew what they were doing was illegal and they didn't want themselves nor their clients and backers to be found out. Bit ran from Zoid to Zoid, hoping to find one with an open cockpit so that he could help Leena. To his disbelief, he found the cockpit left open on a Command Wolf Juggernaut unit, its white surface gleaming under the lights of the hanger. Bit climbed up the side and jumped in, hoping his Zoid skills hadn't gotten rusty since he stopped battling.

* * *

Leena winced as she crashed into the ground once more, victimized again by the trunk of the elephant-like Zoid. She had quickly dispatched the War Sharks once they had come on land, but then this large beast of a Zoid had attacked her. Now she was barely struggling to keep her Zoid conscious. She looked up in time to see the trunk swinging down again at her Zoid's head. She barely managed to dodge the trunk grazing the Dibison's skull. The blow still rattled her and he felt her vision blur from the blow. That was when the black Zoid was blown back several steps by a pair of blasts. She couldn't quite tell because her head was spinning but she thought she saw a white wolf Zoid before she passed out momentarily.

Bit charged the elephant Zoid, letting loose with the Command Wolf Juggernaut's quad mortar launchers just as it was about to finish off the Dibison.

_Back off, I'll take you on_

_Headstrong, to take on anyone_

The black Zoid didn't stay down long as it rose and turned menacingly toward Bit, opening fire with its myriad cannons. Bit dodged the Juggernaut to the side before returning fire with his mortar launchers, causing heavy damage to the stands behind elephant.

_I know that you are wrong_

_Headstrong, we're Headstrong_

Bit pressed the advantage given by the mortars on his Zoid, moving in closer in a bold move meant to blast the thick hide of the other Zoid. He fired, however the black Zoid dodged, swinging its grappling trunk and seizing the Command Wolf by the shoulder, pulling it in slowly into range of the short range guns. Bit smiled to himself, as he thought of an escape plan.

_Back off, I'll take you on_

_Headstrong to take on anyone_

Twin panels on the Wolf's face flipped down, letting loose with a barrage of eight dumb-fire rockets each, peppering the elephant's face and causing it to stumble backwards towards the flames.

"Now it's my turn," said an angry female voice. Leena had rejoined the fray.

_I know that you are wrong and this is not where you belong_

"Megalomax, fire!" she yelled, laughing as the multiple beams hammered the elephant further, causing it to fall into the flames ringing the arena. The fire from Leena's Zoid also did considerable damage to the arena wall, causing it to crack and crumble. She was about to finish the Zoid off further when Bit halted her.

"No! Let's go now!" he ordered, turning his mortars on the already damaged wall, blowing a hole to the outside.

"Bit?" Leena's voice sounded astonished.

"Just go!" he yelled. Leena remained silent, too stunned to reply as her Zoid galloped out of the hole and into the night. Bit weighed his options, noticing the black elephant beginning to get up. He set his Zoid on auto-run and ran out the hole, opening his cockpit as he did. He climbed down the leg as far as he could, no small feat on a running Zoid, and jumped the rest of the way to the ground, rolling and bouncing for a bit. He turned to watch the Wolf go, followed shortly out of the arena by the slower elephant.

_Now to get back to the band._

He snuck back through the hole, climbing into the stands where the fire dischargers had been knocked out. He crept slowly around the seats until he was near the far end of the window. He spotted a door and slowly made his way to it, opening and closing it as quietly as he could. Fortunately for him everyone was watching the chase of the elephant and the rogue Juggernaut.

Brad spotted him and waved him over. "Where have you been!?" he hissed.

"I'll tell you later," Bit shushed him as the gray haired man known as Alteil approached, "Just act natural!"

"Well, gentlemen, I'm sorry to say that we will have to cut tonight's performance short," said Alteil.

Brad opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a cross look from Bit.

"But," Alteil continued, "You will receive full payment nonetheless."

He handed Brad a computer disk, "This is a numbered account with your payment, you may leave the way you came. Thanks you," with that, Alteil moved off to deal with some of the guests, who seemed to be irate over the outcome of the battle.

Brad and Jamie broke down their equipment in silence, giving Bit strange glances the whole time. They walked down the long hall back to where their van was parked, loaded their equipment and headed back towards Romeo City.

_Wow. I didn't know Leena was a Zoid warrior!_

"Hey Bit what gives?" Jamie asked, "Where were you?"

Bit struggled for an answer, "Well...you know that white Command Wolf?"

Brad nodded, "It was kind of hard not to notice. It put all of those big wigs into a bad mood."

"Well...that was kinda sorta me piloting it," Bit said sheepishly.

"What!" Jamie nearly had a heart attack. "Just what were you doing down there!?"

"Oh come on Jamie," Bit replied, "Didn't you see the way they battled? It was dangerous and completely illegal!"

"You know," added Brad, "He's right. As a former warrior myself I wouldn't want to fight in one of those battles."

"See? Brad agrees with me."

"But," Brad added, "That still doesn't explain why you so abruptly left when the second fight started."

"Well," said Bit, poking his index fingers together, "There's this girl, and-"

"Why am I not surprised," Jamie groaned as they headed into the Romeo City night.

* * *

Disclaimer: Don't own Headstrong. That's by Trapt.

Author Notes: Ta dah! Well, it's done. Hope it meets up to all of your expectations! Enjoy, and don't forget to review review REVIEW!

Until next time! Kegger007 out!


	5. Click Click Boom

**The Healing Power Of Music**

_Chapter 5: Click Click Boom_

Author Note: I am very sorry everybody! That was a terribly long wait, but as Godsmack says, "I'm alive, and still kickin'!" So, now that I've gotten all the details of my first few weeks of university out of the way (bills, work, notes, parties, etc) I'm ready to add a new chapter to this particular story! Thanks to all those who reviewed!

**RaiKinoshin - **Headstrong kicks ass my man. It's one of my favourites to listen to before playing hockey. Thanks for reviewing!

**Merceneary Pen - **You'll have to read on to see what Zoid Bit's gonna have, or even if he'll still fight. Uranium-tipped slugs? That's some serious stuff!

**BladesDeath - **It really is a great song, and thank you for the compliment on the Bit/Leena parts...it means a lot coming from an avid reader of Bit/Leena fiction. Thanks for reviewing!

**ShadowLiger - **Hey! Thanks for the info! It will help, I assure you! Lol, Skittles rock don't they? Reviewing is cool and so are you! Thanks!

**Doctor Kiba - **Trapt are a pretty good band aren't they? You're going to their concert? Lucky! Thanks for the compliment, and thanks for the review as well. It means a lot to me.

Disclaimer: Don't own Zoids! Me being a poor university student and all...damn I sure wish I did! I spent all my money on Kendo.

**Now! **On to the story.

* * *

It was early morning at the Toros base, the sun just beginning to rise over the steppes to the east of the base, casting a vermilion glow over the squat form of the hanger complex left over from the wars between the Guylos/Neo Zenevas Empires and Helic Republic. The base was, for the most part, quiet on this sleepy morning, having had a strange night the previous evening, culminating in an ambush by a group of gambling Zoid battle enthusiasts, and that was putting it lightly, known as the Backdraft Group. But what furthered the evening's oddities was the appearance of a white Command Wolf Juggernaut that had helped the Blitz Team escape from the clutches of the nefarious organization.

Still, for all the exhaustion of the previous day's events, one person was still up and about at the early hour of the morning, rummaging around for various things, a clipboard, a pen, and a list. He donned his white lab coat and walked down the corridor where all of the rooms for guests and team members alike were located. Dr. Steven Toros approached the door marked "_Leena's Room, stay out or die_" gleefully, pulling his hand back and rapping on the door loudly before barging through the door.

The dim room was immediately brightened by the harsh hallway lights, causing a startled but sleepy Leena to wince and squint, shielding her eyes with her hand.

"Wake up!" the Dr. Toros said happily, "It's time to wake up!"

"Dad," Leena groaned tiredly, pulling a pillow over her head, "It's six in the morning!"

"Exactly!" exclaimed Toros, "It's time to start a new day!"

The sound of slow footsteps approached the doorway, and a haggard looking Leon Toros appeared in the door frame, propping his head against the side, rubbing his eyes blearily.

"What's with all the noise?" he got out around a large yawn.

"Yeah Dad, what gives?" came Leena's muffled voice from under her pillow.

Toros turned to Leon, "Today's the day we interview for a new pilot for the Blitz Team!"

Leena shot upright in bed, "You mean you finally put posters out?"

Toros nodded sagely, "Yes, yes, I dropped an advertisement wherever I could," he stroked his chin thoughtfully, "I think some warriors must have seen you guys fight those Blackdaft guys."

Leon grabbed his forehead, "Dad, they were Backdraft, and no laughing matter."

But Dr. Toros was already off in his own world, "I can't wait! Maybe the new pilot will have a cool new Zoid for me to look at!"

He walked off, stars in his eyes and Zoids in his head towards the kitchen. Leon sighed and looked to Leena, who had fallen back asleep.

_Why do I feel this is only the beginning of the madness?_

* * *

__

_Guygalos...damn._

The blonde stood atop a tall precipice of rock outside of the largest city this side of the Guylos Empire's lands, Guygalos. Urban sprawl stretched below and made quite the ways away towards the horizon, a testament to the size of the Imperial Capital. He checked watch for the umpteenth time that day.

_I better get moving._

Bit walked over to his trusty jeep, which he bought when he was a junk dealer. A guy needs transportation other than some dusty old truck after all. He made his way through the canyon roads that lead into one of the only paths into the city, which is what made them so defensible and made Guygalos such a stable stronghold for power. Even now, he noticed the twisted wrecks of gun ports manning the long forgotten checkpoints of a military outpost long forgotten. He turned onto the main freeway, traffic decidedly light for the time of day.

He reached down into his glove box, searching past various knick knacks and other items one accumulates in their car over the length of their ownership. He shuffled around until he found what he was looking for: a copy of the first song he had ever recorded. Sometimes it felt good for him to just pop in one of his old CDs and rock along, and it also helped him see places he could improve upon in his music. He nodded along as the rock beats filled the open air around his jeep, beginning to sing along with his younger self on the CD.

_C'mon, c'mon! C'mon, c'mon!_

_On those Saturdays, when kids go out and play,_

_Yo I was up in my room I let the stereo play_

He smiled. He remembered when he wrote this song, shortly after he had been called to do his first show at The Club. He wanted to come up with some new material and, well, his life certainly provided some good stuff to write about.

_Wasn't faded, not jaded,_

_Just a kid with a pad and pen and a big imagination_

A chuckle escaped his mouth. The children that had gone to his school had thought he was anti-social, and so did his parents, for he used to stay in his room and write or strum his guitar. But that was fun to him, certainly more fun than hanging out with the other kids who's concerns were to play video games and whatnot. No, he was more at home writing songs, and playing while watching Zoid battles on television.

_All this, I seek, I find I push the envelope to the line, _

_Make it, break it, take it, until I'm overrated._

Certainly, music was his goal in life, well at least one of them. He had tried and sacrificed quite a bit just to get to where he was with his band. He still had to push them further until they succeeded in the harsh world surrounded with nothing but corporate head games and cookie cutter bands.

_Click click boom._

_I'm coming down on the stereo, hear me on the radio_

He was already playing in local venues, it wouldn't be long until he could get his song play time on the radio stations around Romeo City and elsewhere.

_Click, click boom._

_I'm coming down with the new style and you know it's buck wild._

His band was already making legions of fans, with their new style that was a refreshing change from the many vocal sing/dance groups that had flooded the sound waves over the past few years.

_Click, click boom_

_I'm on the radio station touring round the nation,_

_Leaving the scene in devastation._

It wouldn't take long for him, Brad, and Jamie to make enough money to begin touring all across the Central Continent, and even over on the Eastern and hopefully up into the Dark Continent as well.

_I can see it in my mind, I can see it in their eyes._

_It's close enough to touch it now, but far away enough to die._

He had another dream as well, which was cut short after he and his father had their falling out. To be a Zoid warrior. To become glorious on the tournament field and become widely known that way. If he became famous that way, he could then easily get his band exposure and make huge amounts of prize money to pay for it as well. That was why he was headed to the ZBC's central Guygalos office. He had to speak with his father.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

_My mom and dad weren't perfect_

He pulled into the central parking lot, wondering how his first meeting with his father in two years would go. Sure, his parents had caused him trouble, and he them, but he had come to realize that they had only the best intentions in mind for him, and he was sure that he would have listened to them if it would trade the horrible years spent junk dealing.

_But still you don't hear no cryin ass bitchin from me_

_Like there seems to be on everybody's CD_

Still, the years he had spent on the brink of poverty had served him well, and he wasn't complaining. If he hadn't done what he had done, he would never have met his band mates and met with so much success. He hit the off button on the CD player before turning the car off. He stepped out, heading to the main lobby. He reached the reception desk, asking the receptionist which way he had to go to find his father, or as the secretary knew him, the Zoids Battle Commissioner.

"Which way is the ZBC Commissioner's office?"

The receptionist didn't turn away from her screen, "Do you have an appointment?"

Bit scratched his head, "Uh, no?"

The receptionist shook her head, "The Commissioner is a busy man, you need to have an appointment."

Bit thought for a moment, trying to figure a way around the appointment problem. "Tell him that his son is here to see him."

The receptionist nearly fell out of her chair, "Bit Cloud? Is that you?"

Bit smiled broadly, "Of course it's me."

"I haven't seen you in over seven years!" she exclaimed.

"Well, is it okay if I see my father now?" he asked.

"Sure thing hun, go right ahead," she allowed, pointing down the hall to where his father was. He nodded, thanking her, before heading down the long corridor to the large set of doors at its end. He rapped on the door, a voice from inside answering.

"Come in," it commanded.

Swallowing, Bit turned the door knob and stepped inside. The office was fairly Spartan in nature, with only a few scattered items here and there and one large plaque on the wall behind the desk, which stated "Royal Cup Champion". He turned his eyes to the man behind the desk who was now standing in astonishment.

"Bit?" his father's startled voice managed.

Ward Cloud looked much like an older version of his sun, his blonde hair becoming shot through with streaks of silver. However, his green eyes were still fierce and held plenty of vitality.

"Yeah Dad, it's me," Bit said a little sheepishly, now shy in the presence of his father.

"How long has it been?" Ward asked quietly.

"Two years," Bit began, "Look Dad, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for two years ago and-"

His father cut him off, "Don't even start apologizing. As far as I'm concerned, the past is best forgotten."

"Huh?" Bit sounded confused.

"Look son, I'm sorry too, sorry I didn't listen to you more, and sorry I let my work take over my life."

"Dad, I-"

"Ah," he interjected again, "No, it was really my fault. I would do anything to get those two years back."

Bit cast his glance towards the floor, "So would I Dad, so would I."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

Ward smiled, "Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to give your father a hug?"

Bit grinned, crossing to meet his father in a strong embrace.

"So what have you been doing these past two years?" his father asked.

Bit sat down in the chair offered. "Well, I finally have a band."

Ward's eyebrows shot up, "Oh?"

"Yeah, me and two other guys. We're currently contracted to Club Romeo."

His father sounded impressed, "Wow, that's the best club in all of Romeo City, and quite possibly the rest of the Neutral Zone."

Bit blushed at the compliment, "No big deal Dad, it's just a hobby."

"Sure," Ward smirked, "It was pretty much the only thing you did as a kid."

"Not true!" Bit protested.

"Oh? Name one other hobby."

"Zoid battling," Bit smiled, knowing he had his father pinned on that one.

"Oh that's right, you were into battling for a time," his father remembered.

"Actually," Bit said, "That's what I'm here to see you for."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Bit poked his fingers together, "I kinda, would you mind if, I mean, can I have a Zoid?" he finished lamely.

His father stared at him with a blank look for a few seconds, during which Bit prepared for a verbal blasting. What happened next surprised. His father began to chuckle, which eventually turned into booming laughter.

"And why do you need a Zoid?" he asked between guffaws.

"Well, I wanted to take another go at winning the Royal Cup and making into Class S."

"Oh?" Ward raised his eye brows again, "Want to be like your old man eh?"

"Yeah," Bit conceded.

"Or is there something else?" his father said slyly.

Bit blushed slightly, betraying a hidden fact to his father.

"Hmm...embarrassed are we? Are you trying to impress a girl?"

"No!" he said a little too fast, causing his father to laugh again.

"So it is a girl! Well son, I think I can help you, but first you have to do something."

Bit began to look excited, "What's that?"

Ward reached under his desk and hit a button for his intercom, "Sharon, set up a Command Wolf to run the Gauntlet."

"The Gauntlet?" Bit sounded worried.

"Oh don't worry, it's just a test of your Zoid skills," said Ward, "I can't just give you a Zoid, it's against regulations. So I have the Gauntlet to make my giving you a Zoid look legit."

"Oh okay, when do I start?"

Ward Cloud smiled, "As soon as possible."

* * *

"Next!"

A Zoid warrior stepped through the door, his yellow jacket tassels flowing out behind him. That, with the combination of pink pants and platform shoes made anyone who looked upon him shield their eyes. He cockily strutted in, sitting down across from Leena, Leon, and the absentminded Doctor Toros.

"Harry, I thought I told you not to come around here!" Leena hissed.

Harry Champ flashed Leena his best smile, which to her, looked more like a grimace of pain. "Leena, my darling, I have come so that we may fight side by side!"

Leon sighed, "Harry, I don't think it would work out."

"But I have brought over my entire arsenal of Zoids to fight for you!"

This caught Doctor Toros' attention, who got stars in his eyes at the mention of all those Zoids, "Really? How many Zoids?"

Harry coolly ran a hand through his hair, "Over fifty, and those are just the ones at my smallest garage."

If someone could be said to have an adult-like sugar rush, then it was Toros when he thought about Zoids. After he finished running around the room and dancing, which was about ten minutes later, he sat back down and straightened his clothes.

"I think you may be the right fit for our team," he said finally.

Leena, along with Leon, almost fell completely out of her chair.

"What!" she sputtered, "You can't be serious Dad!"

Leon voiced his alarm, "Dad, don't be taken in by the amount Zoids he has, we need a genuinely good pilot to get us up into Class A!"

"Nonsense," Toros retorted, "He'll do just fine."

Suddenly Leena pointed out the window, "Look Dad, a Storm Sworder Stealth unit!"

"Where!" Toros screamed like a little kid, dashing to the window. Leena promptly took the opportunity to pick up Harry bodily and carry him towards the door.

"What's wrong Leena my darling?" Harry crooned.

"You are!" she grunted as she hurled him with all her might, tossing him over the sand dunes that ringed the base.

"Wow," said Leon, "That's a new record."

"Hey!" came the Doc's whiny voice from inside, "There's no Storm Sworder out here!"

Leena sighed.

_It's going to be a long day._

* * *

__

Climbing up the offered ladder, Bit swung himself into the cockpit of a navy blue Command Wolf. It was a standard AC unit, mounting two eighty millimeter cannons on its back. It was a sturdy Zoid for its era, but Bit wasn't too sure of its usefulness now.

_Can it stand up to this Gauntlet? What is this Gauntlet for that matter?_

_Why have I clouded up my mind, why's my mother always right,_

_And will I make it 'till the end_

_Or will I crawl away and die._

The doors at the end of the small hanger began to open up, and he heard the audible clicks of the magnetic launchers attached to the feet of the Command Wolf.

"Are you ready Bit?" came the secretary's voice over his intercom.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he replied.

No sooner had he finished then the launch ramp sent him hurtling out of the hanger and through the air, sending him to land in the middle of a large, circular walled off coliseum type building.

"Your objective is to set out down the Gauntlet and make it back to this arena in time allotted."

A timer appeared on his heads up display, allowing for five minutes. A hatch at the side of the arena opened up, revealing a long corridor beyond.

"Begin," said the secretary.

He immediately set off into the corridor. The first obstacle was a set of zig zag corners, which normally would require one to reduce speed. Bit, however, simply increased speed, using the stabilizers on the Command Wolf to pull sharp turns around the corners. He cleared the final corner and came face to face with a cannon turret turning to shoot him. He hit the triggers on instinct.

_Click, Click, Boom_

The cannon exploded in a shower of metal, some of the pieces hitting his cockpit glass. He wiped his brow, sending the Wolf down further through the corridor. Next was a series of hi and low bars, requiring him to either jump or crawl to get through. He barely squeaked the Wolf through the final bar, bounding up and over another wall and into an another large section of corridor. Three targets swung down, each the relative size of a D-Mantis.

_Click, Click, Boom_

He hit the triggers quickly, nailing each of the targets relatively square in the chest. It was enough to put each down, as they retracted back into places in the walls and floor. He chanced a glance down at his clock.

_Only three minutes left!_

He urged the Command Wolf to greater speed, zig zagging around corners, ducking obstacles and dispatching with targets.

_Click, Click Boom_

He passed another set of high and low bars, this time a pair of cannons tried to peg him as maneuvered through them. He dodged the cannons and made it around the next corner. Straight into a dead end.

_What? A dead end?_

He stood there for a second, pondering this next obstacle. That was when an idea occurred.

_On those Saturday when kids go out and play _

_Yo I was UP in my room I let the stereo play_

He reached down to his console, hitting a few buttons on the weapons panel. He allotted as much energy to his cannons as he could, charging them until they almost appeared the crackle with energy.

_On Saturdays when kids go out and play_

_I was UP in my room I let the stereo blaze_

He unleashed the blast in a torrent of energy, striking the wall dead center. It held for split second at first, but soon buckled outwards, stone and masonry blown clear in a massive explosion that hurled chunks of concrete over one hundred meters away.

_Its all inside of me, its all inside of me, It's coming over me _

_It's all inside of me, it's all inside my head_

He smirked to himself as the smoke cleared. Beyond, he could see the arena. He glanced at his clock.

_Still two minutes left._

He bounded out into the arena, expecting to be congratulated on his accomplishment. As he passed through the hole he was met with a rude surprise as he was knocked on his side as another Zoid rammed into him. He managed to shake off the hit fast enough to avoid the downwards swipe of a claw, and he rolled back to his feet, only to come fast to face with his opponent.

The silver Konig Wolf let out an electronic growl, Bit's own Zoid growling back. The Konig Wolf was seen as the Command Wolf's older brother, and it was a very formidable Zoid.

_I don't have time for this!_

_Click, Click Boom_

Bit opened fire with his cannons, hitting nothing but open space as the Konig Wolf dodged each one. The Konig Wolf fired back with back mounted twin cannons, much like Bit's own, but met with the same results as Bit managed to avoid the blasts.

_I'm coming down on the stereo hear me on the radio._

The enemy Wolf closed the gap, swinging for him with an outstretched paw. He ducked under it and head butted to other Zoid, causing it to stumble backwards into the arena wall. He took the opportunity to open fire again with his cannons.

_Click Click Boom_

Somehow, once again the Konig Wolf managed to evade his fire, the beams scorching the arena walls. The Wolf ducked under his line of fire and attempted another swipe with its paw, this time connecting with Bit's Zoid. He was sent sprawling for the second time since the fight had started.

_I'm comin down with the new style you know it's buck wild._

Bit growled.

_So you want to fight tooth and claw eh?_

He set his Wolf in motion, managing to avoid the other's shots, getting in to close to attack with his paws as well. That was when he noticed his clock.

_Only 45 seconds left!_

He dodged another paw swipe and made his way to one end of the arena before turning around and heading back towards the Konig Wolf in a head to head pass.

_Everybody, Everybody come on._

The enemy Wolf did the same thing, stopping at one end of the arena and turning to face him. It also wanted to finish the match. They loped across the open space, firing as they came. The clock ticked off the last precious remaining seconds of time. Bit kept one eye on his targeting gear and the other on the clock.

_3_

He locked the targeting box around the Konig Wolf.

_2_

His hands tightened on the controls.

_1_

He squeezed the trigger.

_Click, Click, Boom_!

* * *

Author Notes: Wahahaha, and that is the end of another chapter. Sorry it took so long, but yeah, school blows. When Bit was saying that line about Guygalos I was going to have it like that line from Apocalypse now where he says "Saigon...(insert expletive for dung here)". But then I realized that this story is rated G and that I would have to change it if I swore, so I changed it slightly...oh well. Remember to REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!


	6. The New Zoid

**The Healing Power Of Music**

_Chapter 6: The New Zoid_

Author Note: Wow! A lot of people enjoyed that last chapter! Keep those reviews coming! They motivate me to write a lot more than no reviews! Sorry for the wait, I had a few papers due, as well as mid terms, so here we go! I'm updating this one before my other story, (even though it's my other story's turn!). I left you in a cliff hanger eh? Sorry! To the reviewers!

**SulliMike23** - Yeah, I know. Another cliff hanger! Sorry about that! Don't worry though, you'll see what happens to Bit this chapter!

**Mercenary Pen - **I don't know about the wolves thing, I just happen to like the Command Wolf as a Zoid, its pretty multi-purpose in nature. We'll have to see what Zoid Bit ends up in won't we?

**Careless Whispers - **Why thank you! (Blushes). You're going to make my ego swell up with comments like that! I'm glad you liked the end of the chapter! I thought it came out kind of neat! Thanks for reviewing!

**ShadowLiger **- I know the update wasn't soon, and I know it was a cliffhanger last chapter! I'm sorry! Keep reading and thanks for reviewing!

**Kitai Matsuru - **Yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed having Leena throw Harry a record distance. The image in my head was priceless! And keep writing! I want to see more of your work (like My Fallen Star!). Thanks for the input!

**RaiKinoshin - **OO;;.... oops! Sorry, I didn't realize that I had been calling you "my man". Lol, forgive me for my blasphemy! You're gonna make me blush with compliments like that! Keep 'em coming!

**Doctor Kiba - **Well, I can't reveal my plot, but there is a good chance of that in Bit's future. I don't think Harry is dumb...just misunderstood lol! Thanks for the review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids or its affiliates.

**Now! **On to the story!

* * *

An explosion rocked the coliseum, sending clouds of dust billowing outwards in all directions. The concussive blast cracked the retaining walls, sending even more debris into the air, obscuring the sight of all those watching the battle, remote cameras and spectators alike. The smoke cleared to reveal the shape of a large wolf-like Zoid sprawled on the arena floor, twin blast holes marking either side of its head. Another wolf stood triumphantly over its fallen foe, like the alpha dog in the pack. A figure popped open the cockpit hatch of the fallen Wolf and took his helmet off, glaring up at the victor.

_Just how did I lose?_ growled Bit to himself.

The Konig Wolf stood above him for a few seconds more, before the voice of secretary came over the intercom system again.

"The winner of the match: Chairman Cloud!"

Bit nearly fell out of his cockpit in disbelief as the cockpit hatch of the Konig Wolf opened up to reveal its pilot, none other than Bit's father, Ward Cloud, blonde hair unruly and blowing in the wind.

"Dad?" Bit questioned, "You were in that Wolf?"

His father smiled slyly, "Of course I was son! What else did you expect?"

Bit sighed, "Well that explains why I couldn't hit you with any of the shots I took."

"Oh really?" Ward said mischievously, point over his shoulder to the side of the Konig Wolf's head. Bit's gaze followed, and he noticed twin blast marks on either side of the Wolf's skull, quite similar to the ones on his own Zoid.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, "I did hit you! So how come you didn't go down?"

Ward's laughter boomed loudly, "I can't tell you all my secrets now can I?"

He clambered down from the Konig Wolf's cockpit, crossing over to Bit's downed Zoid.

"You certainly gave me a run for my money though!"

Bit cast his gaze downwards, "Fat load of good it did me. How am I supposed to beat a former Royal Cup champion?"

Bit's father put his arms around his shoulders, "Hey, don't be too hard on yourself! It's been a long time since I've actually been hit by another Zoid's fire"

"Really?" Bit turned to his father in wonderment.

"Of course!" Ward smiled triumphantly, "You don't get to be where I am by taking damage now do you?"

Bit smiled back, "Well, that's true enough...but still, I didn't win, so I guess I'll have to wait on that Zoid."

"Well, I certainly was impressed with your skill!" his father beamed, "You finished the obstacle course section with two minutes to spare!" he pulled Bit closer, "There's something I want to show you."

He motioned to Bit to remain silent, gesturing that they return to the hanger complex where the Zoids were stored. Bit nodded and fell into step beside his father. They passed a few techs who were heading out to the battlefield to bring in the two Wolves. The passing techs each did a double take, witnessing time in progress with the younger Cloud a mirror image of the elder. Ward took him to the back of the hanger to the elevator that would lead back to the administrative levels. Bit looked on curiously as Ward swiped his key card into the access slot, keying in a number on the pad beside the screen. It flashed an acceptance message before the elevator began to descend.

"Wait," Bit said, "I thought the hangers were the lowest level?"

His father pocketed his key card, "That is true...it never does say how many hanger levels there are now, does it?"

Bit couldn't help but crack another smile, "It figures Dad, you were always one for cloak and dagger secrets."

His father spread his hands, "You know me too well son."

The chime on the lift dinged, indicating that they had reached their destination. The doors opened, revealing a sight that caused Bit's eyes to widen in wonder. As they stepped through the threshold and into the hidden hanger, Bit simply could not believe the image that greeted his eyes. Almost every type of Zoid, regardless of shape, size, or rarity could be seen, from small Zoids like the Godos and Guysack to huge beasts like the Dark Horn or Dibison. As he followed his father between the rows of Zoids he noticed that some were grouped by type, as they passed a group of Command Wolves, including the standard Command Wolf, the Command Wolf AC, IT, and even the Urban Assault Juggernaut like the one he had piloted before. The further they went into the hanger he noticed some rare Zoids, some hailing back to the days of the Zenebas Empire. He passed a squad of Red Horns, and a pair of Hammer Rocks, the Iron Kong's little brother.

"Where do all these Zoids come from?" Bit stared in awe.

His father smiled proudly, "This is my personal collection, obtained from prize money in battles or gifts from the nations of Zi to the ZBC for helping to keep the peace and allow the population to get their aggression out in Zoid battles."

They passed a row of particularly rare and vicious Zoids: the Geno Saurer series. There sat a Gun Sniper, the base form of the Saurer, and then a Crystal Saurer, the blue Zoid being an old Imperial clone of the Geno. Finally, stood the Geno Saurer itself, this one a dangerous looking red colour, the hanger lights glinting off. There were two empty spaces beside the Geno Saurer, but Bit took no noticed of them.

"Where did you get those?" Bit wondered.

"Well, the set came to us as a gift from the Guylos Empire," his father replied.

"Why did they give them to you?" Bit asked.

"Well," said Ward, gesturing to the next set of Zoids, "This is why."

He looked across to where his father was pointing, awed by the magnificence of the pride of Liger type Zoids he beheld.

"The Helic Republic first gave us this complete evolutionary set of Liger types when I first became ZBC Commissioner."

First in line came a classic blue Shield Liger, with it's characteristic impact cannons. Beside it was a modified version of the Shield Liger, the DCS-J, also blue, equipped with two HI-beam cannons. Next came the evolution of the Shield Liger, the famous Blade Liger. This one was also blue, its blades folded neatly away, ready to deploy at a moment's notice. The final Zoid in the sequence caught Bit as odd and out of place. This one was white, and appeared to have no weapons mounted to it at all. It did have a pair of mean looking golden claws, however.

"What's with that one? It's different from the set," Bit pointed out.

"That, son, is the Liger Zero," said his father.

"Liger Zero?"

His father nodded, "Yes, the Liger Zero. This Zoid served me well during my piloting career."

"You piloted this Zoid?" Bit exclaimed, "It has no weapons!"

Ward smirked, "On first glance, maybe not, but this Zoid is very special," he walked over to the Liger and placed his hand on its paw, "It helped me win the Royal Cup."

"What? You won with this piece of junk?"

With that comment the white Zoid reared its head back and let loose a huge roar, shaking Bit visibly.

Ward chuckled, "You should watch what you say around him, he gets pretty annoyed by insults."

Bit, however, was busy trying to keep his composure, having just taken a roar full in the face. The Liger Zero growled further, pacing forward a few steps towards Bit.

"Easy buddy," Ward consoled, "He didn't mean it."

The Zero regarded Ward with a slightly quizzical look, letting out an interrogative growl.

"He's not just a friend," said Ward, "He's my son."

The Zero seemed to nod in Bit's direction, forgiving him for his earlier insult. It took a few steps back and returned to its place in line.

"D-dad," Bit stammered, "How can you communicate with it?"

"Well son," he explained, "The Liger Zero is a special Zoid. It was formed by the evolution of a Blade Liger, though the means of the evolution are unknown. Though it has no weapons, it carries with it the ability to be mass modified by replacing the segmented pieces of armour."

"But how can it talk?" Bit wondered.

"That is something I don't know," his father said, "It's just something we've always done."

"And what about those armours?" Bit asked.

"The conversion armour system," Ward sighed, "Unfortunately, though I know it exists, I haven't been able to locate any sets."

Bit frowned, "Then how did you win the Royal Cup without any weapons?"

His father smiled, "You'll have to find out when you pilot it."

"What!?"

"That's right son," his father said, "I'm entrusting the Liger Zero to you. You've earned it."

Bit's jaw dropped, "I don't know what to say!"

"Thanks would be a good start," his father said before his laughter boomed throughout the hanger.

"Thanks Dad," said Bit as he hugged his father.

Ward Cloud simply smiled, "Thank yourself, you've made me proud."

They broke the embrace, and Bit regarded his father warmly, "I have to go take care of some business."

* * *

"Next," said an extremely bored voice.

So far that day, the candidates arriving at the Toros Base were poor at best. First of course had been Harry Champ, himself being quickly dispatched by an irate Leena Toros. Next had been a group of lower level pilots from Class D, but Leon had rejected the idea of bringing them on board. There had been overpriced mercenaries, underpriced mercenaries, and a handful of people who ended up having the wrong address.

"Leena, my darling!" came a voice.

Leena Toros, the red haired, gung ho warrior of the Blitz Team tried in vain to restrain her rage.

"Harry," she growled dangerously, "I suggest you leave now."

"But why my sugar beet?" his voice was insanely annoying to her.

Leon leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

"Oh she certainly wouldn't do that to me," Harry brushed his warning off, "Why I'm the man destined to be King!"

_You're a man destined to be dead, _Leon sighed as Harry walked over to Leena and took her hand into his, lips brushing the back of it.

Leena all but exploded, grabbing Harry by the ear and kicking his rear end out the door before throwing any object she could find handy. Unfortunately for Harry, a selection of wrenches lay nearby, and he soon found himself unconscious on the desert floor amid a hail of flying wrenches.

"And don't come back!" Leena yelled.

"But I just got here," an amused voice said.

Leena turned to see the new visitor, already fed up with the disappointment of the day's applicants. She was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Is that you? Bit was it?" she inquired.

"Yeah, that's me," Bit replied.

"Are you here to apply for the position?"

"Yeah, why else would I be here?"

Leena blushed, annoyed at her stupid question. "Obviously," she said, "Come on, I'll introduce you to my brother and father."

They walked through the hanger towards the desk set up by the doors to the interior of the base. On the way, Bit noticed the Dibison he had seen earlier, as well as a blue Shield Liger, looking slightly beat up, but still dangerous. He noticed two men, one looking like a younger version of the other.

"This is my brother Leon, and my father Steven Toros," Leena introduced.

"Hi, I'm Bit Cloud," he introduced himself.

Leon nodded, but Toros said, "Can I see your Zoid?"

Bit nodded, "Sure I guess, its just around front."

Leena sighed, whispering to Bit, "My dad has an obsession with Zoids," but she was also curious to see what Zoid Bit piloted.

Upon Bit's agreement, Dr. Toros immediately bolted outside, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. They followed behind, but at a slower pace.

"So Bit," said Leon, "How long have you been piloting Zoids?"

"Well," Bit began, "I piloted them when I was fifteen but had to give it up at seventeen when I moved out of my house and didn't have the money to maintain a Zoid."

"What Class did you fight in?" Leena wondered.

"Class B," Bit replied.

"Well, that's where our team is now," Leena informed him, "We-"

"So cool!" she was cut off by the Doc's childish voice.

"Here we go again," Leon said.

They rounded the hanger doors to find the Doc running all around the Liger Zero, ooing and ahhing at this and that.

"Do you guys have an idea how rare it is to find a white Liger?" he rattled on, "I don't even know what this type is! Oh it look sooo cool!"

"Dad," Leon cautioned, "This thing doesn't have any weapons, how can it fight?"

Once again, the Liger turned and roared, this time in Leon's face. Leena giggled at the look on her brother's face, slightly perturbed and his hair ruffled from the force of the roar. Bit merely smiled and the Doc rambled on.

"Did you hear that roar! That's how you can tell a Zoid is strong!" he was practically in his own dream world now.

"Well," said Leon, "That's certainly interesting. I've never seen a Zoid do that before."

"But where are the weapons? Where did you get this Zoid?" Leena asked.

"Well," said Bit, "It was a gift from my father, and he says that I have to get by with it for now. He also said that there was an armour conversion system or something."

"Did someone say armour conversion?" Doc piped up.

"Yeah, I did," said Bit.

"That is so cool!" Toros practically squealed, "I've heard about armour converting Zoids! You're hired!"

"Huh?" came Bit and Leon's simultaneous replies.

"Don't you want to interview him?" Leon asked his father.

"No, I think he'll do, I mean look at this Zoid!" Toros wasn't hearing anything after that point, lost in a world of armour conversion and white Ligers.

"Don't worry Leon," said Leena, "I think Bit will do just fine."

"He better be," said Leon, turning to re-enter the hanger and check on his Shield Liger.

"Don't worry about him," Leena consoled, "He's just skeptical of new warriors."

"Well, I'll just have to show him that I can fight!" Bit proclaimed triumphantly.

"Good," Leena said, "It's getting late, but we have a room made up if you want to stay the night."

"Thanks," said Bit yawning, not realizing how tired he was, "I think I'll take you up on that offer."

With that they entered the base, chatting about this and that as the Liger Zero followed them inside, the Doc not far behind, practically drooling over the new Zoid.

* * *

"Rewind the tape," a voice said.

The images on the screen reversed until they stopped, showing a white Command Wolf Juggernaut pegging a black elephant Zoid with mortar fire.

"Now play back the security tapes," the voice added.

A view of a hanger of Zoids came to life, showing a figure climbing up the side of the Command Wolf and jumping into the cockpit. The blonde haired warrior buckled himself in and headed towards to arena.

"It was that boy!" the voice hissed.

"Yes, sir," said another, "But what do we do about it?"

"Well Polta, we can't just let him go unpunished," the voice said dangerously, "He put a serious kink in the development of the Elephander. He must be dealt with."

"Yes sir, I will put spies out to find his location," said Polta.

"Good, but it must be a Zoid battle," warned the man, "We have to make this look like a legitimate accident."

"Of course," Polta saluted, "By your word Commander Alteil."

With that he left the room to carry out his orders, leaving Alteil alone with his thoughts. He leaned back in his chair and smiled thoughtfully.

_No one crosses the Backdraft Organization. No one._

__

* * *

Author Notes: Another chapter complete! I know, not too much action, but I hope you liked the Doc's antics...and what are those pesky Backdraft guys up to now? And how will Bit do on his new team? Tune in next time to find out, and don't forget to REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

Peace!


	7. Ready? Fight!

**The Healing Power Of Music**

_Chapter 7: Ready? Fight!_

Author Note: I hate my life sometimes! I can't get any work done either at work, school, or fan fiction! So nothing gets done and I fret about it all day. So you know what? I'm gonna just grit my teeth, bite the bullet, and write fan fiction. Though I should be working on a french essay (who writes essays in french?). Enjoy the chapter, and once again, I'm so sorry it took so long! On to the reviewers!

**SulliMike23** - Lol, well I don't know if they're gonna face the Fuzzy Pandas, but we'll have to see won't we? And yup, Alteil has found out, and he is one pissed mofo. Keep reading! Sorry it's so late!

**Mercenary Pen - **Yeah, the wolf type Zoids are pretty cool, but I needed some sort of plot twist to keep the peeps interested, so back comes the Liger Zero! Yeah, I also realize my mistake about the Gunsniper...oops! Sorry this took so long!

**Cluck the Chickin - **The next chapter is here my friend! I hope you love it too! Thanks for the review, and sorry about the lateness!

**ShadowLiger **- I know the update wasn't soon, and I know it was a cliffhanger last chapter! I'm sorry! Keep reading and thanks for reviewing! And school does suck! Down with school!

**Kitai Matsuru - **Oh man, I took forever to update! I've become the thing I hate! Harry is simply fun to bash around, it's a plain fact of nature. He just begs for the opportunity to be beaten down with wrenches! Thanks for reading to this point, and keep up the reading! (AND UPDATE YOUR STORIES!!!)

**RaiKinoshin - **Yeah, Harry is a dork, Leena thinks Bit was there to see her, and this chapter will most certainly be awesome! Keep reading and forgive me for the lateness of this post!

**Doctor Kiba - **Ack! Please don't send ninja snipers to my house! Heh, the Doc is very juvenile is he not? And yeah, Bit will most likely kick some serious arse out there! Thanks for the review!

**BladesDeath - **Yeah man, you dropped off the face of the earth for a bit there. Don't worry, so have I for the past month or so, it's just freaking hard to write while at university and juggling clubs, my job, and of course, school work! But I'll find a way! Anyways, glad to see you back, forgive me for the lateness, and hope to see some more writing by you soon! (By the way, I'm doing a Christmas special, Brad/Naomi fic, so stay tuned for that one!).

Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids or its affiliates.

**Now! **On to the story!

* * *

It was a peaceful morning over the Blitz Team base, the sun rising lazily over the mountains to the east, casting warm rays upon the ground below. A few birds could be heard singing, and even an animal or two played happily in the forested area near the perimeter of the base. All was calm, all was quiet. 

"Where the hell is my cookie!!!!" came a woman's irate scream.

In the living room, a blonde head perked up, cookie crumbs falling from his lips.

"Was that Leena? Bit asked aloud.

Leon Toros looked up from reading his magazine, taking note of the cookie in Bit's hand. "Where did you get that cookie?" he asked.

Bit frowned, "I got it from the kitchen this morning."

"Was it out of a pink cookie jar?" Leon inquired.

Bit nodded, "Yeah, it was. Why do you ask?"

Leon sighed, holding his face, "No reason really, but I advise that you start running."

"What?" Bit's face grew confused, "Why would I have to run?"

Just then a figure burst through the door, vein on her forehead threatening to explode with rage. Her eyes flew across the occupants of the room, first seeing her brother reading a magazine, then her father lost in a television program. Finally her eyes reached the third occupant of the room, a certain blonde haired pilot who had just joined their team. It was then that she noticed the nearly eaten cookie sitting on a plate on the coffee table beside him.

"Bit Cloud!" she screamed, "That was my cookie!"

Leena proceeded to rush the couch, causing Bit to yelp and dart out of her way. Leena, however, was not halted by this and began to chase him out the door.

"Get back here Bit!" she hollered, nearly catching him as he stumbled over a chair.

"What did I do?" he cried out loud, turning a corner and heading towards the hanger. Unfortunately for him, he didn't know the layout of the base and soon found himself stuck in a dead end. He whirled around to see Leena advancing slowly, purposely towards him.

Again, Bit asked, "What did I do?"

"Something that you won't ever do again," Leena said, cracking her knuckles.

Bit's screams echoed throughout the base for a full ten minutes that morning.

* * *

Brad sat at the bar in Club Romeo, sipping his coffee during his usual morning ritual of watching Zoid battle recaps on the television above the bar. Beside him sat a nervous and fidgeting Jamie who couldn't seem to sit still. Eventually Brad had all he could stand. 

"Would you sit still!" he nearly yelled, eye twitching.

"Sorry Brad," Jamie apologized, "But the meeting gets underway real soon, and if Bit doesn't get here quickly then..."

"Yeah, I know," Brad cut him off, "It won't look good for us if we're trying to negotiate a contract and our lead member isn't here."

Jamie sighed. Their band had been gaining quite the amount of success and fame among the denizens who frequented the clubs of Romeo City, but they had yet to get further out into the musical society. It was true that they had begun recording their own CD, but without the national fame to drive sales they couldn't produce many even if they wanted to. So they were meeting with a local radio station that played music in many of the locales frequented by Zoid enthusiasts, hoping to get their music popular with a demographic that spent a considerable amount of money due to their massive prize winnings.

"Doesn't he realize that this is important?" he complained.

Brad took his eyes off the television, "I'm sure he does, but maybe something's come up."

"Maybe," Jamie agreed, "But what do we do for now?"

"Well," said Brad, turning from the seat at the bar, "We just say that Bit is currently talking with a rival radio station, because we've heard rumours that Radio Zi runs a shady business."

"Oh, I see," said Jamie, "And then they'll be so nervous that they'll hire us?"

Brad nodded, "That's right. We just have to hope that if Bit show sup, he does it before the meeting."

Jamie frowned. _Bit where are you?_

* * *

It was around noon at the Toros base when the Doc came to a realization. 

"I just remembered that we have a battle today!" he said loudly, startling Leon who had been eating his lunch quietly. He nearly choked on his sandwich, sputtering and coughing before he could get out a reply.

"What?" he managed to get out while hacking up bits of bread crumbs.

"When were you planning on telling us that?" Leena said, slightly annoyed, but used to her Dad's eccentricities.

"Dad," Leon groaned, "You have to tell us these things beforehand."

Bit would have said something but he was nursing a sore jaw from his earlier beating, so he kept quiet.

"Well, I would have, but we got all caught up with looking for a new team member, and then we got one, and it just slipped my mind I guess," said the Doc scratching the back of his head.

"Well, I guess that's understandable," said Leena, "Who are we fighting?"

"Good question," the Doc said, "I don't know"

Everyone promptly fell on the floor. Leena was the first to get up.

"What do you mean you don't know who we're fighting?" she nearly yelled.

"I know who they are!" he protested, "I just forget their names. Aren't they the Fuzzy Cats, or the Fierce Pandas or something?"

"Oh," said Leon, "You mean the guys we fought when our battle was interupted by those Backdraft thugs."

"The Fierce Tigers," said Leena.

"So when do we battle," Bit finally said, his voice muffled by the icepack he held to his face.

"Ummm..." the Doc thought a few seconds more, "In two hours."

Everyone fell on the floor for the second time that day.

"That leaves us with practically no time to pack the hover cargo!" exclaimed Leon.

"Oh it's plenty of time, we just better get moving!" Toros said cheerfully.

_Why do I have a bad feeling about this_, Leon groaned.

* * *

Dust billowed out behind of the Hover Cargo as it made its way across the hard packed desert mesa that was soon to become the battlefield for the Blitz Team's rematch with the famed Fierce Tigers Team, who had as of late been ripping up the Class B circuit. 

"Ready team?" came Steven Toros' voice over the intercom to each of the respective pilots of the Blitz Team. Leena Toros, who was situated in the Cargo's side bay for heavier Zoids, did a quick check on the Megalomax system installed in her Dibison. She had had the Zoid since she first started Zoid battling, and it had always served her well. She smiled to herself. She always enjoyed explosion and being the one to cause them, she couldn't explain why. All she knew was that she liked firepower, and the Dibison, already a considerable weapons platform, now had a weapon capable of downing multiple Zoids in one shot. She smirked slightly.

"Leena here," she keyed in as the side ramp folded outwards, "Ready to crack some skulls!"

Leon Toros sat within his blue Shield Liger on the Cargo's magnetic launch ramp, in line ahead of Bit Cloud's Liger Zero. He snorted to himself. His dad and Leena thought that Bit was a great pilot, but neither had seen him in action yet. He would only consider Bit a teammate when he saw how he performed on the battle. He checked his systems one last time before initializing the launch sequence.

"Leon, ready for launch."

Bit watched the blue Shield Liger launch out of the Hover Cargo and began to get slightly nervous. He had never used a magnetic launch system before, and he was worried about the landing.

"Uh, what do I do next?" he muttered to himself, hesitating over the proper stance to use for launch.

The Liger Zero grumbled uneasily. Apparently it hadn't used a system like the one employed on the Hover Cargo before either.

"Nervous too, eh buddy?" Bit said.

The Liger grumbled and then seemed to chuckle a bit, a picture of Bit's face appearing on the screen.

"Oh shut up," said Bit, "You try being beaten by a woman raving about a lost cookie."

Just then the floor began to move, guiding the Liger out into the sunlight. Bit felt a shift in the floor of the Cargo, indicating the magnetic field coming to life.

"Uh," he keyed his comm unit, "This is Bit, ready to launch?"

He felt the ground under him shudder as the magnetic launch system hummed to life. The Liger splayed its legs slightly on its own accord, the magnetic beams coming into contact with its feet. The launch triggered, flinging them up the ramp and through the air. Bit gripped the controls tightly, bracing for impact. They hit the ground, sending up a small cloud of dust and skidding across the desert floor. Bit was so worried with the landing that he didn't notice the Liger sliding towards Leena's Dibison. It wasn't till she shouted that he realized the danger.

"Look out Bit!" she hollered.

Bit froze for a moment, but then the Liger leapt up and over the Dibison, pulling a twist in the air, to land safely in line beside Leena.

"Wow," said Leena, who sounded impressed, "That was pretty slick!"

"Uh, thanks," Bit stuttered. Had the Liger just saved his butt? He sure didn't remember moving the controls during that little incident. The Liger grumbled, in what sounded like a chuckle.

"Are you laughing at me?" Bit asked.

"Huh?" Leena sounded confused.

"Uh, never mind," said Bit, laughing nervously. He had left the open communicator on. He flicked it off for a moment angrily. "Liger, what was that for?"

The Liger Zero offered no reply aside from a continued chuckling. Bit rolled his eyes and prepared to meet their opponents. Three shapes became visible, bounding towards the assembled members of the Blitz team. The three Zaber Tigers were painted a glaring golden yellow. the sunlight overhead reflecting harshly off their mirrored coats. The two flanking Tigers stopped a few feet behind the middle one, who Bit assumed was the leader.

"This is Kirkland of the Fierce Tigers Team!," the boisterous voice of Kirkland came across their communications systems, his obnoxious face appearing on their monitors, "Will there be no more tricks this time?"

Leon keyed his comm unit, "What are you talking about?"

Another face appeared beside Kirkland's, this one being the round headed Omari, "You know exactly what we mean!" he accused loudly.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Lineback, his face appearing last on their monitors, "No more help from your Backdraft buddies!"

Leena nearly blew up then and there, "What! They were attacking us more than you! Maybe if you hadn't been taken out right away you would've seen that!"

Kirkland took exception to this, "That is a strike against the honour of the Fierce Tigers Team! Prepare to be defeated!"

Bit was about to say something but he was cut off by the arrival of the judge satellite, streaking down to Zi like a meteor. It hit the ground hard, sending up a billowing cloud of dust. Through the billowing sands a lone figure could be seen rising through the cloud, its silvery skin gleaming in the dust storm. The form of the judge, with its arms ending in paddles of red and blue, resolved itself to the assembled teams.

"Attention, the area within a five mile radius has been designated a Zoid battlefield," the judge's raspy electronic voice said, "Danger, all unauthorized personnel must leave the area immediately. Area, scanned. Battlefield, set up. The Blitz team versus the Tigers Team, battle mode 0982! Ready? Fight!"

The Liger immediately jumped to life.

"Whoah!" exclaimed Bit, "Liger hold on a second!"

"Bit!" Leon yelled, "Get back in formation!"

He pulled hard at the controls, but to no avail, "I'm trying!"

The Liger made a straight line for Kirkland's Zoid, causing his opponent to jump sideways firing his back mounted medium cannons as he dodged. The blasts hit the Liger across the top of the back, causing it to growl in annoyance.

"Liger," Bit pleaded, "We can't just rush them blindly!" Unfortunately for Bit, the Liger Zero wasn't listening and continued to pursue Kirkland without even attempting to dodge his incoming fire.

Omari and Lineback took advantage of the other two Blitz members distraction and attacked. Leon was rocked by a pair of blasts from Omari's Zoid, and he cursed as his Zoid hit the ground momentarily. A red signal flashed on his monitor, indicating that his triple impact cannon was off-line.

"Leon are you alright?" Leena asked, moments before her Dibison was hit just above the knee by a trio of cannon shots. Lineback circled slowly, knowing that her Zoid's weakness was in its knees. He took his time in lining up the final shot that would put her Zoid into command system freeze.

"Can anyone help here?" Leena called frantically, trying to get her Zoid to struggle to its feet, but the stabilizer cap on the right front leg would not hold any weight.

"No one can help you this time silly girl," Lineback chuckled, "I-urk!" he was cut off by the force of something slamming into the side of his Zoid. The shield on Leon's blue Shield Liger sprang to life, its red field grinding into the side of Lineback's Zoid, crumpling armour plates and sending shards of metal flying. The Zaber Tiger hit the ground with a roll, casting off various parts as it finally came to a stop, unmoving.

"Registration number Z-086! Out of the battle!" the Judge reported, holding out his red paddle.

The Shield Liger's shield deactivated as Leon ran over to Leena's side, "You okay Leena?"

"Yeah,' she said angrily, "But I can't get my Zoid to move, I'm stuck here!"

Shots began to rain down around them as Omari sensed their moment of weakness. Leon activated his shield once more and began to absorb the shots so that they wouldn't hit Leena's prone Zoid.

"Haha!" Omari cackled, "You can't hold that position forever!"

"He's right Leon!" Leena pleaded, "You need to deactivate that shield or your Zoid will overheat!"

Leon gritted his teeth as he actually started to feel the heat rise in his cockpit. "Too bad sis, I'm not letting you get hit while lying prone."

"Bit," Leena called, "We need your help here!"

But Bit was still trying to get the Liger under control. Kirkland's annoying voice came across the comm again, "Just who are you warrior? And why don't you come back when you learn how to fight properly?"

This of course only got the Liger more angry and caused it to charge blindly once more. Kirkland dodged out of the way, hitting the Liger with another blast to its already damaged back. Bit watched nervously as the damage indicators began to near the red.

"Liger!" he pleaded again, "You have to listen to me! We need to help our teammates!"

The Liger grumbled, preparing to pounce at Kirkland again.

"Liger!" Bit called, "I don't want to fight like this! We need to work together! Like you used to with my father!"

The Liger Zero seemed to hitch in its step, growling softly at Bit questioningly.

"I want to make my father proud," Bit said passionately, "I've caused him too much trouble in the past."

The Liger said nothing, but flashed two images on the screen, one of Bit and one of his father. It then merged the two with a question mark appearing on the screen.

"Yeah," said Bit smiling, "I want to be just like him."

The Liger seemed to roar happily and the cockpit began to feel much more responsive to Bit's controls.

It was at that moment that Leon's Zoid began to emit arcing bolts of electricity and smoke before falling to the ground.

"Registration number SL-455 out of the battle!" the judge called.

Bit quickly realized that Leena was in danger of Omari's guns and he pulled back hard on the controls, igniting the boosters on the Liger's back.

"You're mine now," Omari said triumphantly, only to find his shots miss as he was knocked violently enough in the side to send his Zoid tumbling into a command system freeze, much like Lineback's had earlier.

"Who owns who now?" Bit asked with the Liger growling viciously.

"Registration number Z-085 out of the battle!" said the judge.

"Thanks Bit," Leena thanked him, "Is Leon okay?"

"Yeah, I'm still good," Leon said with a slight wince evident in his voice, "It's a little hot in here though."

"Hold on, we'll - look out Bit!" Leena warned, just as Kirkland's Zoid tried a claw swipe at the neck of Bit's Zoid. The Liger dodged to the left before turning and leaping at the Zaber Fang, and the two soon found themselves rolling across the ground, growling, swiping, and scratching and clawing at each other. They both rolled away to face each other.

"I'm going to finish this in one pass," said Kirkland, "But first-" he quickly fired two blasts at the ground in front of Bit, sending up dust and blinding his visual sensors. The Liger ran out of the dust cloud only to find that Kirkland had not tried to attack them. No, he was nowhere to be seen. Bit turned around only to notice Kirkland rushing towards Leena's Zoid.

"Dammit," he cursed, "Let's go Liger, we've got to stop him."

But the distance was just too great, and without and ranged weapons Bit could do nothing but watch as Kirkland lined up his shot with Leena's Zoid.

"I'll take care of you first," Kirkland boasted, centering his cannon on the Dibison's vitals.

"Oh yeah?" Leena said slyly, "You forgot one thing?"

"Yeah, and what's that?" Kirkland sneered.

Leena smiled sweetly, "A hurt enemy is not a defenseless enemy." Light began to build in the many cannon barrels on the Dibison's back. "Megalomax, fire!"

Leena's inanse sounding laughter filled the air waves as blast after blast rained down upon Kirkland's Zoid, blowing off bits and pieces of armour and weaponry with each hit. Finally a blast hit the weak point behind the Zaber Tiger's beck, severing the command links that the cockpit had with the rest of the body. The final Zaber Fang hit the ground, a misshapen blackened lump of what was once proud gold armour and weaponry.

"Out of the battle!" the judge called, "The winner of the match is: The Blitz Team!"

"We did it!" the Doc said happily over the comm.

"We sure did," said Leena as the Cargo came over to load up the damaged Zoids first.

Bit was smiling happily inside his cockpit, "Thanks buddy," he said to the Liger, who let out a growl that sounded almost like a purr.

Bit watched the retreating Zoid satellite fly back into the sky, heading for its home in space.

_And thank you father._

* * *

Jamie sauntered out of Club Romeo, whistling a happy tune. 

_Well, that wasn't so bad!_ he thought to himself. The meeting had gone quite well, with the radio station all but agreeing to start putting a few of their songs in its hottest time slot, ensuring that they would be heard by audiences all over Zi. This of course, would only help them gain popularity and possibly allow them to begin selling CDs once they finished recording their first album. Jamie was jerked out of his dream world when an arm clad in black reached out of the alley beside him and pulled him inside. He found himself held against a wall with what looked like a gun pressed into his ribs.

"Be real quiet," his assailant said dangerously, "And no one gets hurt."

Jamie tried to get a good look at his captor, but the person was wearing a black mask. "What do you want from me?" he asked, his voice trembling.

"I want information," the person said, "Now will you cooperate, or will I get to make you cooperate?"

Jamie swallowed hard, "No, I don't want any trouble"

"Good," said the man, "Now, tell me, what is the name of your band leader?"

Jamie's eyes widened considerably, "Why do you want to know that?"

He was promptly hit across the face with a backhand blow. "Just tell me!"

Jamie squeezed his one eye shut. He was sure to have a black eye there. "His name is Bit Cloud," he said, in pain.

"There, now that wasn't so hard now was it?" the voice said evilly, "I hate to be rude, but I have to run." With that, the figure shoved Jamie hard into the alley wall before running off further into the system of alleyways. Jamie hit the wall hard, cracking his head off the brick before sliding down to land on his backside. He was too stunned to move, and he remained that way for over twenty minutes until Brad walked by the same alleyway on his way home. He noticed Jamie and hurried over, worry evident in his voice.

"Jamie are you okay? What happened?"

Jamie shook his head, still feeling woozy from his head hitting the wall, his eye still closed in pain, "He wanted to know about Bit."

"What?" Brad was puzzled, "Who wants to know?"

"The man," Jamie winced, "I think Bit may be in trouble."

* * *

"Commander Alteil," a figure clad in black bowed before him. 

"Ah," Alteil smiled, a mere formality, "Do you have the information I seek?"

"Yes sir," the figure nodded, "The boy's name is Bit Cloud."

"Thank you," Alteil dismissed him, "You can go now"

He waited until the figure left the room before turning to the other occupant of the room. "Cloud, now where have I heard that name before?"

Major Polta stepped forward, "That is the last name of the current ZBC Commissioner my lord, and I believe he had a son who's name was Bit."

This time Alteil's smile was genuine, "Excellent, this may just coincide perfectly!"

A confused look crossed Polta's features, "I'm not sure I understand sir."

"You wouldn't," Alteil chuckled, "For this is a plan we've had in the works for a while now." He got up out of his chair and began to pace slowly around the room. "You see, Major Polta, the ZBC Commissioner is rumoured to have quite the extensive collection of rare and powerful Zoids, given to him by the governments of the world. Not to mention his own legendary white Liger."

"So you're saying we should steal these Zoids?" Polta surmised.

"I'm saying that not only are we going to steal these Zoids, but we will also be getting back at that Bit Cloud by hurting his father's image!" Alteil said proudly.

"So we enrich our resources and take care of the Cloud problem in one blow?" Polta guessed.

"Exactly, we kill two birds with one stone, cementing Backdraft as a force to be reckoned with!" Alteil stepped in front of the window looking out over the desert.

_We'll show the ZBC what a group of bandits can achieve!_

* * *

Author Notes: Yay! I finally finished it! I guess since I haven't written in a while it was much harder to write this chapter. Damn you school! Damn you to hell. Plus it doesn't help that I'm nursing a sake induced hangover (damn you Geikkiran sake!). Anyhoo, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to hear from you, so don't forget to REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! 


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